Photo Flash: Lithgow's STORIES BY HEART Comes to MTF, 1/4-2/13

The Center Theatre Group / Mark Taper Forum's 2011 season opens with John Lithgow's "Stories by Heart," a special one-man theatrical memoir, January 4 through February 13, 2011.  The opening is January 5.

Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winner Lithgow offers a touching and humorous reflection on storytelling as the tie that binds humanity in "Stories by Heart." In this piece he traces his roots as an actor and storyteller, interspersing his own stories with two classic short stories that were read to him when he was a child.

Lithgow imparts the wonder and joy he felt when he first heard Wodehouse's "Uncle Fred Flits By" 1935, a funny story about a nephew taken on an afternoon's escapade by his mischievous uncle, and Lardner's "Haircut" 1925, a darkly comic tale told by the local barber about a small-town practical joker who gets his due.

"Is there another actor breathing who's as sweetly charming as John Lithgow? . . .      [He reduces] audiences to laughter and tears just by telling them a story . . .," Marilyn Stasio of Variety said. Ken Russell of The Times London remarked, "Lithgow's particular gift is deftly to interpret material through a slightly skewed, surreal and scampish perception." 

John Lithgow's extensive Broadway credits include, among others, "The Changing Room" Tony Award - Featured Actor, "Requiem for a Heavyweight" Tony Award nomination -Actor in a Play, "Division Street," "Beyond Therapy" and "M. Butterfly" Tony Award nomination - Actor in a Play, and the musicals "Sweet Smell of Success" Tony Award - Best Actor in a Musical and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" Tony Award nomination - Best Actor in a Musical. He has appeared in over 30 films including "The World According to Garp" and "Terms of Endearment" Oscar nominations for both, "All That Jazz," "Blow Out," "Twilight Zone: The Movie," "Ricochet" and "Cliffhanger." Lithgow received three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for his work on the hit NBC comedy series "3rd Rock from the Sun." This year he won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy for his work on Showtime's "Dexter."  He is the author of eight New York Times best-selling children's picture books.

Tickets for "Stories by Heart" are available by calling CTG Audience Services at 213 628-2772 or online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org or in person at the CTG box office located at the Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus